“Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching!” declares the Lord (Jeremiah 7:9-11).

“Safe!” cries the umpire. Standing on third base, the runner now has 2 options. The first is to abide by the rules of the game and stay on the base until there is a moment to sprint back to home base. The second is to ignore the umpire and keep sprinting here, there, and everywhere until his feet land on home base. 

Since the umpire called “safe,” he should be able to do whatever he wants… right?

Are we anything like this wild base runner? Do we ever think that because we have a Savior, a forgiving God, that we can do whatever we want?

In this week’s passage, however, God plainly denies this idea. He questions the people of Judah, asking them, “Do you truly think you are safe to do all these detestable things?” And He goes on to say that He has been watching. Nothing we do goes unseen by God. But even more so, we tend to take for granted our safety in Him. 

We are safe in Christ, we are free in Christ - and thank God for that safety and freedom! However, our being safe in Him does not mean we can do whatever we want. We should instead be grateful for our eternal safety with him, and show our gratitude by respecting God and his laws and doing good rather than bad. 

Lord, grant us the wisdom to understand that we are safe in Your embrace. Let us also realize that just because we are safe does not mean we can do whatever our hearts desire. Being safe in you truly means being granted the opportunity to love you for the rest of time - remind us of that, Oh Lord.  When we come to a crossroads of doing either good or bad, help us to remember that we are safe in You, and should be so grateful for that that we do the good thing out of gratitude.  In Your Holy and Perfect Name, Amen.